Transcript [00:00] I'm with Troy Miller from the nrb [00:02] National Religious broadcasters now Troy [00:04] what is the nrb so the National [00:07] Religious broadcasters Association is a [00:09] membership organization made up of [00:11] almost 1,600 Christian communicators [00:14] that work in the fields of radio [00:16] television Christian film Christian [00:18] publishing podcasters bloggers and [00:20] churches so if you're in Christian [00:22] Communications inrb is here to defend [00:25] your first amendment rights here in the [00:28] US and freedom of religion right around [00:30] the world that's kind of the primary [00:32] work we do and then we hold a large [00:34] annual conference every year that helps [00:37] Ministries get together and it's kind of [00:38] an iron sharpens iron and we talk about [00:41] the latest issues in technology we bring [00:43] in the best speaker so that happens each [00:45] year to help Ministries grow and [00:47] whatever God's called them to do when we [00:49] started and why we started actually we [00:52] just celebrated a few weeks ago our 80th [00:54] anniversary we were started back in [00:56] 1944 when radio was the emerging media [01:00] uh there was a group of pastors that [01:02] decided radio was a great way to reach [01:05] people for the gospel and also to [01:07] disciple people and so they started with [01:09] radio programs well there was a group [01:12] that decided that they wanted to make [01:14] the decision who should be and who [01:16] shouldn't be on radio and in order to [01:19] counter that group The nrb was formed at [01:21] Moody Church in Chicago in 1944 and [01:24] again we've been fighting for the Free [01:26] Speech rights of any kind of Christian [01:29] communication s around the world to be [01:31] in the public space uh where God's [01:33] called them to be so what sort of people [01:36] are members of the [01:38] nrb so we have uh everybody from large [01:41] radio groups like Salem Radio here in [01:44] the US bot radio Transworld radio that [01:47] has radio stations around the world Far [01:49] East broadcasting and then large [01:51] television groups and like I said [01:53] Christian Publishers authors today our [01:56] fastest growing groups are of course [01:58] Christian podcasters folks that want to [02:00] podcast and get their message out on the [02:02] various social media platforms or over [02:05] the digital Airwaves imagine technolog [02:07] is changing so much you have to change [02:09] with the technology as well oh that's [02:11] absolutely right my background is [02:12] actually a technology guy I spent 11 [02:15] years in the computer industry and and [02:18] we've seen so much technology change [02:20] especially over the last two decades [02:22] going from analog to digital and then of [02:24] course on TV we've gone from HD to 4K to [02:28] 8K and we're just seeing a a lot of [02:31] change with traditional broadcasting and [02:34] the new digital Frontier so there are a [02:36] lot of changes and we bring in a lot of [02:37] experts in our conference every year to [02:40] just talk about where technolog is going [02:42] and Technology Trends now you equip [02:44] broadcasters how do you do that so A [02:47] couple of different ways one we again we [02:49] help them keep up on the latest [02:51] technology we also have experts that [02:53] they can call we'll connect them with [02:55] Engineers from other people within the [02:57] association so they can talk about about [03:00] what the latest changes are and moves we [03:02] we also help them with other things they [03:04] need we fundraising back office advice [03:07] and accounting HR Services we have [03:10] Partners in all of those areas that can [03:12] help a Ministry with all the [03:13] administrative things they need to do as [03:15] well as whatever they've been called to [03:17] do in Ministry and you also do advocacy [03:19] work what sort of things are you doing [03:20] there yeah so advocacy is a large part [03:23] of what we do throughout the whole year [03:25] and we really work in four what we think [03:27] is four major areas of course we work in [03:30] what's going on in the government so we [03:32] work with any laws that are being [03:34] proposed coming through the Congress [03:35] through legislation the regulatory [03:39] environment today is an environment [03:41] that's ever changing so we work with the [03:43] Federal Communications Commission to [03:45] make sure that there are regulations and [03:48] rules that aren't going to be burdensome [03:50] on broadcasters we also watch for [03:52] regulations and rules that have to do [03:54] with program producers so that's a big [03:56] area that we work with today those two [03:59] areas we work fortunately sometimes that [04:01] doesn't work and we have to work in the [04:03] legal landscape we currently have a [04:05] couple of lawsuits underway one actually [04:08] against the Federal Communications [04:10] Commission on a new eeo form this is an [04:13] employment form that they want all [04:15] broadcasters to fill out that form has [04:17] been blocked several times by the courts [04:20] as both being burdensome and intrusive [04:22] so we're taking them to court on that [04:24] and we're also taking the Internal [04:26] Revenue Service to court on What's [04:28] called the Johnson Amendment along law [04:29] that silences the leaders of of [04:32] nonprofit organizations from talking [04:35] about candidates so those are that's one [04:37] area the other area we work in now today [04:40] a lot more is Corporate America we're [04:42] starting to work more in the sea sues in [04:45] the executive suites across Corporate [04:47] America because Corporate America has [04:49] seen a lot more activism and it's seen a [04:51] lot of [04:52] anti-christian and just plain [04:55] anti-religious activism as well uh out [04:58] there so we're trying to build Bridges [05:00] to the corporate SE rooms and to educate [05:03] them on really who the audiences are out [05:05] there they're only hearing kind of one [05:07] side of the story and so we're trying to [05:09] counter that and then the mainstream [05:10] media is another big area we work at the [05:13] mainstream media is often very hostile [05:15] to to religious people in this world and [05:19] around the world and so that's another [05:21] area in the US here and the the last [05:23] area the fourth area we work in on [05:26] advocacy is international religious [05:28] persecution we work when we can with the [05:31] state department and various entities to [05:34] address International religious [05:35] persecution around the world now you've [05:37] got an election coming up very very soon [05:39] as a Christian broadcaster does it [05:41] matter who wins the election well you [05:43] know it always matters as broadcasters [05:47] as business people the type of people [05:49] that are going to govern and the type of [05:51] governance they're going to employ and [05:54] and some governance the current [05:56] Administration is regulatory heavy [05:59] handed so we look at that kind of things [06:02] that's going on and then we look at an [06:04] Administration that may be more business [06:06] friendly and and more certainly more [06:09] religious friendly so yeah it certainly [06:11] matters who governs this country as a [06:14] 501c3 as I said earlier we don't endorse [06:17] or oppose candidates but we do bring up [06:20] and talk about the issues that are [06:21] important to our membership and the [06:23] Christian Community as a whole is [06:25] encouraging Christian communicators very [06:26] important oh it's very important look we [06:29] live in I think maybe what might we call [06:32] the peak of the communications age where [06:34] you can communicate around the world [06:37] instantly today with multiple people so [06:41] Communications has never been stronger [06:42] there were recent surveys that say the [06:45] average person now spends more time [06:48] online about nine hours than they do [06:51] sleeping and and so that's really crazy [06:55] so Christian Communications broadcasting [06:57] is important radio is growing here in [07:00] the US so the radio audience is [07:02] continuing to grow and of course the the [07:05] hundreds and hundreds of thousands of [07:08] people that are on the internet today [07:10] listening to influencers so it's it's a [07:12] great time to be a Christian [07:13] communicator and it's also an important [07:16] time to be a communicator because [07:17] there's certainly a lot of anti- [07:19] messages out there now here in Israel [07:21] Israel of course was hit by a massive [07:23] terrorist attack just under a year ago [07:26] on October the 7th did you come to visit [07:28] Israel all in solidarity and support of [07:31] Israel yes I I've actually been to [07:33] Israel twice I came we came in December [07:36] so just barely two months after the [07:38] incident in on October 7th to show a [07:41] show of solidarity we visited some of [07:43] the communities to the South along the [07:46] Gaza border that were hit the hardest we [07:49] were able to talk to community leaders [07:51] and to to people and let them know that [07:54] the Christian Community across the US is [07:57] the community that's standing the strong [07:59] us with Israel and that we are praying [08:01] for them every day praying that they can [08:04] restore rebuild their communities and of [08:06] course praying for their continued [08:08] safety so that was our December trip we [08:10] met with a number of religious and [08:12] governmental leaders on that trip as [08:14] well and then nrb hosted a solidarity [08:17] trip that I went on in May in [08:21] association with the Jerusalem prayer [08:23] breakfast and again we brought a group [08:25] of Christian leaders these are all [08:27] Christian communicators one of the folks [08:29] we brought with us did an entire [08:31] documentary on that and again we visited [08:34] some of the cities in the in the South [08:36] we also visited the Nova Music Festival [08:39] grounds which was very surreal very [08:42] touching hard to do and to hear those [08:44] stories and then again met with a number [08:46] of religious and and government leaders [08:49] to let them know that the Christian [08:50] Community is strongly standing in [08:53] support of Israel's right to defend [08:56] herself and also standing in support of [08:58] Israel helping Israel to recover from [09:01] this what were your thoughts as you were [09:03] going around seeing some of these places [09:05] where this terrible terrorist attack [09:06] took place just horrific you know I'm a [09:09] Navy veteran so I've been in a lot of [09:11] places around the world and spent time [09:14] in the Persian Gulf but this was just [09:17] beyond thinkable especially when we went [09:19] to beer and talk to the things that went [09:23] on in that Community to talk to [09:25] survivors who had to hear and hide in [09:28] their house and and there was one man [09:30] who heard his elderly neighbor you know [09:33] pleading in Arabic for his life only to [09:36] be murdered in his front yard and then [09:39] to go to the Nova Film Festival where [09:42] all these young adults all these kids to [09:45] me were just you know they were out [09:47] having a good time they never thought [09:49] they would wake up that morning and it [09:52] would impact them for the rest of their [09:54] lives and the brutality not I I think if [09:58] I could tell people one one thing that [10:00] they have to understand that the [10:02] brutality here this was not an act of [10:06] normal Warfare this was an act of Pure [10:10] Evil that was perpetrated on the Jewish [10:13] people that day and and that I think [10:16] will live with me forever you think this [10:18] is a spiritual battle what's happening [10:20] in here in Israel at the moment oh [10:22] absolutely this is is definitely a [10:24] spiritual battle this is a dyamic behind [10:27] this the the dynamic Powers behind this [10:29] are just crazy I I don't know how you [10:32] could do that much evil and not [10:34] understand this is a spiritual battle [10:36] not only is it a spiritual battle for [10:38] the the land of Israel and for the [10:41] Jewish people but I I think it's a [10:43] spiritual battle just to silence the jjo [10:46] Christian message around the world I [10:48] think we know that the Islamic these [10:51] radical Islamic terrorists these people [10:54] once they silence Israel the next thing [10:57] they want to silence is the US the big [10:59] Satan and and we know behind that is is [11:04] the church and it's the Christian Church [11:06] message it's the message of Hope of the [11:08] Gospel that they just can't stand and [11:10] and Satan can't stand that so there is [11:13] and that's why we've called Christians [11:14] to be praying across this country [11:16] because this is at at its root a [11:19] spiritual battle has it surprised you [11:21] how the students have reacted in the [11:23] protests and you know the rise [11:26] antisemitism as well well somewhat it [11:29] was surprising and I think what was the [11:32] most surprising was how fervent and how [11:36] deep it went but look in the US here [11:39] we've had a huge problem in our higher [11:41] institutions of learning and I think [11:43] what this did was really expose [11:46] something that's been there all along [11:49] especially if you look at the US and [11:51] understand that the Jewish community in [11:53] the US uh by far is secular um not [11:56] religious they are far more left leaning [12:00] and Progressive and so to understand [12:02] that these students and people here you [12:05] know supported a lot of these left [12:08] Progressive causes and now with the [12:11] attack on Israel which is crazy they get [12:14] attacked by Hamas and then all of a [12:17] sudden these protesters come out but [12:19] this is a part of the whole critical [12:21] race Theory and critical theory that's [12:23] been taught in these higher educations [12:26] now is coming back to really haunt them [12:28] because they really boil down everything [12:31] into just two categories there's the [12:33] oppressed and the oppressors and that's [12:35] it it's not even good and evil it's [12:37] oppressed and oppressors they erase the [12:40] fact there are such thing as a real good [12:42] and real evil and so they have labeled [12:45] they have bought into the propaganda [12:48] often pushed and paid for by these [12:51] radical Islamic groups they brought into [12:53] the propaganda that somehow Israel is [12:55] the oppressor and the Palestinian people [12:59] the people that live in Gaza are the [13:02] oppressed and that's all that matters [13:04] and then out of that you've seen this [13:06] rampid anti-Semitism and here here's [13:08] another problem that's out there too on [13:11] these college campuses they're not just [13:13] protesting against the actions of a [13:16] government the actions of let's say the [13:18] Israeli government they're actually [13:21] protesting against Jewish people simply [13:24] because they're Jewish when you block [13:27] Jewish professors from going to to teach [13:30] their class when you block Jewish [13:31] students from going to teach their class [13:34] these are American citizens not Israeli [13:36] citizens that shows that your your issue [13:39] is not about the policies of a [13:42] government your issues are about the [13:45] heritage of a people group and so I [13:48] think we've just seen that get exposed [13:50] on these college campuses here with this [13:52] war that's going on you got the chance [13:55] and opportunity to meet with um Israeli [13:57] leaders I imagine they're very app [13:59] appreciative that you came but also came [14:01] to support them oh yeah that was a [14:03] message we heard over and over again [14:06] from both leaders political leaders [14:09] governmental leaders leaders in various [14:12] cities that we met in and religious [14:15] leaders even within the Jewish Orthodox [14:17] Community I can tell you the story we [14:20] actually when we were there in December [14:21] we were there the last night of Hanukkah [14:24] and so we had the privilege to be [14:26] invited in by a rabbi to celebrate [14:29] dinner with him and a meal with him on [14:32] his wife on the last night of Hanukkah [14:34] and he let us know that both he and his [14:36] wife are reformed rabbis which are the [14:40] more left Progressive rabbis both of [14:42] them are professors at the Jerusalem [14:45] University and he said we often we are [14:48] probably on the wrong side of most [14:51] cultural social issues than you are as [14:54] Evangelical conservative Christians but [14:57] yet here you are are Evangelical [15:00] conservative Christians in my home [15:03] sharing a meal telling me how much you [15:06] love me you're praying for me you [15:08] support me and my left liberal [15:11] counterparts in the US are condemning me [15:15] and condemning my actions and he said [15:17] that you don't know the profound impact [15:19] that has had on my life tell us a bit [15:22] about the NB convention so the nrb [15:24] convention I said we we hold an annual [15:26] Convention of Christian communicators [15:28] it's actually an International [15:30] Convention we have representatives from [15:32] all around the world that come it'll be [15:34] in February 24th to the 27th in Great [15:37] Vine Texas at the Texas Gaylord Hotel [15:41] it'll bring over 5,000 Christian [15:44] communicators together to again share [15:47] ideas to be able to hear what the latest [15:51] trends are in technology we'll have a [15:54] number of sessions talking about [15:56] artificial intelligence and how it [15:58] relates to communic ations into [16:00] broadcasting they'll also hear from Key [16:03] leaders and experts on a number of [16:06] social issues that are going on as well [16:09] all of the legal or legislative issues [16:11] so it's just a a great group and at the [16:14] same time it's also a time for Spiritual [16:17] sharpening so we get together one of my [16:19] favorite things to see at nrb is when [16:22] you walk the halls and you see groups of [16:24] individuals praying for one another [16:27] especially when there are people from [16:28] around the world from different cultures [16:31] and from different backgrounds and even [16:33] people if you can imagine from different [16:36] denominations within the Christian [16:38] churches here in the US actually praying [16:41] for one another and that's just one of [16:42] the highlights of the nrb convention why [16:44] do you do what you do you know I it's [16:47] interesting you asked me that question [16:49] because I was thinking about that on my [16:51] drivein this morning and I think why we [16:54] do what we do is because it is important [16:58] for Christian communicators to be able [17:00] to get their message out it is important [17:03] to get the hope of the Gospel out to [17:05] this world we live in a world today that [17:07] is so fractured and so much full of [17:11] Despair and depression you just hear it [17:14] all the time people are lost they're [17:16] drifting today the world has no hope for [17:20] them and offers no peace for them and [17:22] and so when the Christian communicators [17:25] are there and they're on the radio or [17:26] television or they're on social media [17:28] platform forms and I just the stories of [17:31] people that that their lives have been [17:33] changed because they turned the radio [17:35] dial or they turned the television or [17:37] they clicked on a link and there was [17:40] somebody giving them the message of Hope [17:42] a message of Deliverance a message that [17:45] they could that their heart was longing [17:47] for and so to to be able to be called by [17:51] God to be part of an organization whose [17:54] job is to protect that right is to [17:58] protect the right of all of these [18:00] different Ministries whether they're [18:01] called to be evangelism or they're [18:03] called to be apologetics or they're [18:05] called to address social issues whatever [18:08] God has called them to do we work to [18:11] keep them in the public sector to be [18:14] able to do that and and that is just to [18:17] me so enriching and and so fulfilling [18:20] and at the same time so humbling what is [18:23] your prayer for Christian broadcasters [18:24] all around the world today so my prayer [18:27] is don't despair don't lose heart we [18:31] know there's a lot of opposition today [18:34] around the world and and especially we [18:36] we talk about it here in the US but look [18:38] we have right now we have one of the [18:40] most hostile environments around the [18:42] world whether you're in India or Asia or [18:46] Africa today there are a lot of [18:47] Christians who are very concerned [18:50] whether they're even going to be able to [18:51] keep their broadcast license or keep [18:53] their stations on the air but remember [18:55] we know how this ends we we have a god [18:59] who is all powerful he is Seated on the [19:02] throne nothing gets past him and nothing [19:05] is beyond his ability so stay [19:10] steadfast persevere and continue to [19:14] preach the gospel and do what God has [19:16] called you to do for God is there with [19:19] us as Jesus Promised lo I Am With You [19:22] Always amen well Troy thank you very [19:24] much for sharing today well thank you [19:26] very much for having me on today [19:28] appreciate you and all the work that [19:30] you're doing
